{"id":238123,"date":"2022-09-25T09:57:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-25T07:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/business-mentoring-and-support-in-south-africa-how-principals-can-improve-early-childhood-development-centres\/"},"modified":"2022-09-25T09:57:40","modified_gmt":"2022-09-25T07:57:40","slug":"business-mentoring-and-support-in-south-africa-how-principals-can-improve-early-childhood-development-centres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/business-mentoring-and-support-in-south-africa-how-principals-can-improve-early-childhood-development-centres\/","title":{"rendered":"Business mentoring and support in South Africa: how principals can improve early childhood development centres"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Early childhood development centres, often referred to as cr\u00e8ches, day cares, edu-cares or preschools, are vital spaces for young children. There, they can learn and play, interacting with their peers and receiving care while their parents are at work or looking for work. These centres are crucial building blocks<\/a> for children\u2019s development<\/a> \u2013 and their futures. <\/p>\n

In South Africa, 1, 660, 3173 children<\/a> are enrolled in 42, 420 early childhood development programmes. <\/p>\n

Early childhood development centres have another role, too, that isn\u2019t often discussed: as employers. This is particularly important in a country like South Africa, which has an unemployment rate of 33.9%<\/a>. Across the country, early childhood development centres employ 165, 059 people<\/a>, most of them women, as \u201cteaching\u201d staff which. That\u2019s a substantial and growing workforce.<\/p>\n

Managing employees, children, parents and infrastructure is a tough task. That means early childhood development centre principals are key figures. They are, of course, often a facility\u2019s public face and figurehead. But they are also business people: managers, charged with resource allocation, planning and organisational leadership. <\/p>\n

These skills have become even more crucial since a shift<\/a> in April 2022 that means South Africa\u2019s Department of Basic Education governs the early childhood development sector, a role that used to be performed by the Department of Social Development. Principals are called upon to be adaptable and responsive to change as the sector adjusts to the new processes and policies under the Department of Basic Education.<\/p>\n

The problem, as my recent PhD research<\/a> shows, is that many early childhood development centre principals don\u2019t have the necessary human resource and programme management skills to turn the governance shift into an opportunity. Nor have they been properly taught how to coordinate the many moving parts involved in running a centre. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s despite the importance of these skills being highlighted in the government\u2019s early childhood development policy<\/a>. The policy states that, by 2030, all early childhood development practitioners and principals should have adequate knowledge, skills, infrastructure, and materials to support a \u201ccomprehensive package\u201d of early learning services. It also says that<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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It is the responsibility of the government departments such as Department of Basic Education to mobilise funding and implement programmes to build the capacity of early childhood development practitioners.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

My research suggests this is an ambitious plan and deadline \u2013 but the goal doesn\u2019t have to be unattainable with the right political will and investment in leadership.<\/p>\n

What principals told me<\/h2>\n

The aim of my PhD study was to gain an understanding of the essential management competencies of principals in the early childhood development sector to effectively manage centres in South Africa. There were 30 participants; 14 were principals of early childhood development centres and 16 were managers working in the early childhood development sector.<\/p>\n

Some of the problems I identified among principals (based on their own assessment and managers\u2019 views) in my research were:<\/p>\n